Apparatus and method for configuring a tire pressure monitoring system

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments of an apparatus and method for configuring a tire pressure monitoring system are disclosed. One method comprises rotating a first tire of a plurality of tires on a vehicle and receiving a signal indicative of the speed of rotation of the first tire from a wheel speed sensor associated with the first tire. A controller associates the first tire with a wheel location in response to receiving the signal from the wheel speed sensor. A tire pressure sensor in the first tire generates a tire characteristic signal in response to the rotation of the first tire. The controller receives the tire characteristic signal and associates the tire characteristic signal with the wheel location in response to receiving the tire characteristic signal within a predetermined time period from receiving the signal indicative of the speed of rotation of the first wheel.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to embodiments of an apparatus and methodfor configuring a tire pressure monitoring system. Tire pressuremonitoring systems for vehicles typically include at least one tirepressure sensor in each of the plurality of tires. The tire pressuresensors communicate tire pressure signals wirelessly with a centralcontroller on the vehicle. The wheel from which the tire pressure sensorsignal is originating must be identified to indicate properly to thedriver or technician which tire is in need of service. One methodcommonly used to associate a tire pressure sensor with the wheellocation in which it is installed is carried out by manually updatingthe central controller with the tire pressure sensor unique ID when thetire with the tire pressure sensor is installed on the vehicle. Thismethod requires time and effort from a trained technician who has themeans to activate the tire pressure sensor to obtain the unique ID andcommunicate with the central controller at the same time.

Trucks and/or tractors typically have at least six tires in which tirepressure sensors are installed. The tires are installed on the truck asone of the last items during an assembly line operation at an originalequipment manufacturer. It is a time consuming activity to manuallyactivate each tire pressure sensor to obtain the unique ID and thenaccess the central controller to associate the unique ID with the wheellocation in which the tire pressure sensor is installed. Often there islimited time available during the assembly process to add another stepto the process. Likewise, whenever a tire is replaced, the centralcontroller needs to be manually updated to associate the new tirepressure sensor unique ID with the proper wheel location.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of a tire pressure monitoring system are disclosed.In accordance with one aspect, the tire pressure monitoring systemcomprises a tire pressure monitoring controller. The tire pressurecontroller comprises a plurality of wheel speed ports for receivingwheel speed sensor signals, each of the plurality of wheel speed portscorrelated with a specific wheel location; a communication port forreceiving a plurality of tire characteristic messages; and a processingunit comprising control logic, wherein the processing unit is incommunication with the plurality of wheel speed ports and thecommunication port. The control logic is capable of receiving a signalindicative of a wheel speed at a first wheel speed port correlated witha first wheel location; associating the wheel speed signal with a wheellocation based on the identification of the wheel speed port thatreceives the wheel speed signal; receiving a tire characteristic messageat the communication port; determining the wheel location of the tirecharacteristic message as being the first wheel location based on theassociation of the wheel speed signal and the tire characteristicsignal; and assigning the unique sensor identification to the firstwheel location.

In accordance with another aspect, a method for configuring a tirecharacteristic monitoring system comprises rotating a first tire of aplurality of tires on a vehicle; receiving a signal indicative of thespeed of rotation of the first tire from a wheel speed sensor associatedwith the first tire. The method further includes associating the firsttire with a first wheel location in response to receiving the signalfrom the wheel speed sensor; generating a tire characteristic signal inresponse to the rotation of the first tire from a tire sensor associatedwith the first tire, the tire characteristic signal comprising a uniquesensor identification. The method further includes receiving the tirecharacteristic signal; associating the unique sensor identification withthe first wheel location in response to receiving the tirecharacteristic signal within a first predetermined time period afterreceiving the signal indicative of the speed of rotation of the firstwheel.

In accordance with another aspect, a method for configuring a tirecharacteristic monitoring system comprises rotating a first tire of aplurality of tires, the first tire located at a predetermined wheellocation on a vehicle. The tire sensor associated with the first tiregenerates a tire characteristic signal in response to the rotation ofthe first tire, the tire characteristic signal including an indicationof the tire rotation. The controller receives the tire characteristicsignal and associates the tire sensor with the predetermined wheellocation in response to receiving the tire characteristic signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, embodiments of the invention are illustrated,which, together with a general description of the invention given above,and the detailed description given below, serve to exemplify theembodiments of this invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a tire sensor systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of implementing the tire sensor system,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates another method of implementing the tire sensorsystem, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 with a tire sensor system 11 isillustrated. The vehicle 10, a tractor or a truck, generally has atleast six wheel locations with at least six tires. The wheel locationsinclude right front, right mid, right rear, left front, left mid andleft rear. The right mid, right rear, left mid and left rear wheellocations include an inner and an outer wheel location if dual tires areplaced at these locations, increasing the total number of wheellocations to ten. A sample tire placement is illustrated in FIG. 1 withtire 12 a at the left front, tire 12 b at the right front, tire 12 c atthe outer left mid, tire 12 d at the inner left mid, tire 12 e at theinner right mid, tire 12 f at the outer right mid, tire 12 g at theouter left rear, tire 12 h at the inner left rear, tire 12 i at theinner right rear, and tire 12 j at the outer right rear. More or fewertires are contemplated.

Each tire in the tire sensor system 11 includes a tire pressure sensor,illustrated by tire pressure sensors 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e, 16 f,16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j. The tire pressure sensor 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d,16 e, 16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j may be mounted inside the tires 12 a,12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 i, 12 j on the rim oroutside the tire on a valve stem. The tire pressure sensors 16 a, 16 b,16 c, 16 d, 16 e, 16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j monitor the tirepressure. The tire pressure sensors may also monitor other tirecharacteristic information such as tire temperature, sensor batteryvoltage, vehicle load and tire vibration. The tire pressure sensor mayinclude an accelerometer or centrifugal switch to monitor motion of thewheel. The tire pressure sensors 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e, 16 f, 16g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j may be tire pressure sensors used in the Smartire®Tire Pressure Monitoring System from Bendix Commercial Vehicle SystemsLLC, for example. Each tire pressure sensor 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16e, 16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j comprises a wireless transmitter thatperiodically transmits signals containing the tire characteristicinformation and a unique sensor identification code (ID) in a selecteddata format. The format may be a standard or a proprietary radiofrequency (RF) protocol. The tire pressure sensors 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16d, 16 e, 16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j may also be configured to transmitsignals upon rotation of the tire or when there is a tire pressure alertevent.

The tire sensor system 11 includes a wireless receiver 24. The wirelessreceiver 24 includes an antenna 26, a processing unit 30 and acommunication port 31. The wireless receiver 24 receives the signals inthe selected data format containing the tire characteristic informationand unique sensor ID from the tire pressure sensors 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16d, 16 e, 16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j wirelessly. The wireless receiver24 decodes the tire characteristic information from the selected dataformat to a tire characteristic message capable of being communicated ona serial communication bus 20. The format of the tire characteristicmessage may be a standard protocol, such as SAE J1939, or a proprietaryprotocol. The wireless receiver 24 is capable of communicating the tirecharacteristic messages over the serial communication bus 20 via thecommunication port 31. The tire characteristic message includesinformation such as the instantaneous tire pressure, the comparison ofthe tire pressure against a tire pressure limit, vehicle motion and theunique sensor ID.

The vehicle 10 includes a wheel speed sensor at each wheel location,illustrated by 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d, 14 e, 14 f. Each wheel speedsensor 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d, 14 e, 14 f monitors the wheel speed atthe wheel location. There is generally not a wheel speed sensor for eachtire when more than one tire is located at a wheel location, such aswith dual tire installations.

The tire sensor system 11 includes a controller 22. The controller 22may be a stand-alone controller or include functionality for controllingthe braking system in addition to tire pressure monitoring. The wheelspeed sensors 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d, 14 e, 14 f communicate wheel speedto the controller 22 via a hard-wired connection through individualwheel speed ports 18 a, 18 b, 18 c, 18 d, 18 e, 18 f on the controller22. As shown in FIG. 1, wheel speed port 18 a is associated with thewheel speed sensor 14 a, which is located at the left front wheellocation. Similarly wheel speed port 18 b is associated with wheel speedsensor 14 b, which is located at the left front wheel location, etc. Thewiring for vehicle 10 is configured so that the wheel speed sensor 14 alocated at the left front wheel end section is always connected to wheelspeed port 18 a on the controller. Alternatively, the wheel speedinformation is received via another means, such as over the serialcommunication bus 20 or via a wireless receiver.

The controller 22 includes a communication port 28 for communicatingwith the serial communication bus 20 on the vehicle 10. Controller 22may communicate with other controllers on the vehicle 10 using theserial communication bus 20 when using a standardized serialcommunication bus format such as SAE J1939.

The controller 22 includes a processing unit 21 and control logic 23.The processing unit 21 may include volatile, non-volatile memory, solidstate memory, flash memory, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), electronic erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),variants of the foregoing memory types, combinations thereof, and/or anyother type(s) of memory suitable for providing the describedfunctionality and/or storing computer-executable instructions forexecution by the processing unit.

The control logic 23 receives the wheel speed sensor signals from theindividual wheel speed sensors 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d, 14 e, 14 f at theindividual wheel speed ports 18 a, 18 b, 18 c, 18 d, 18 e, 18 f. Becauseof the wiring configuration, the control logic 23 associates a wheelspeed sensor signal received at wheel speed port 18 a as originatingfrom the wheel speed sensor 14 a located at the left front wheellocation on the vehicle 10. Similarly, the remaining wheel speed sensorsignals are associated with specific wheel locations based on the wheelspeed port where the wheel speed sensor signal is received.

The control logic 23 receives messages from the serial communication bus20 via the communication port 28. The messages include tirecharacteristic messages as transmitted on the serial communication bus20 from the wireless receiver 24. The control logic 23 also transmitsmessages to the serial communication bus 20 via the communication port28. The transmitted messages include the tire characteristic messageswith associated wheel location and the wheel speed.

It is contemplated that the wireless receiver 24 could be integratedwith the controller 22. The control logic 23 of the controller 22 woulddecode the data in the tire characteristic signals directly and notmonitor the serial communication bus 20 for the separate tirecharacteristic messages.

The tire sensor system 11 may optionally include a display device 32.The display device may be connected with the controller 22 or to theserial communication bus 20. The display device 32 communicates thestatus of the tire sensor system 11 to a vehicle operator or technician.The control logic 23 may also record a fault and transmit a fault signaldirectly to the display device 32 or via the serial communication bus20.

As stated previously, there is a need for an improved system toconfigure a tire pressure monitoring system for tractors and trucks soeach tire pressure sensor is quickly and accurately associated with thewheel location where it is installed. The method of configuring the tirepressure monitoring system will not require a separate download ofsensor identification numbers to the central controller or additionaltools such as sensor initiators. The method may also be used to identifytire sensor locations on other multi-wheeled vehicles, such as trailers.

Accordingly, a controller for a tire pressure monitoring system isdisclosed. The controller comprises a plurality of wheel speed ports forreceiving wheel speed sensor signals, each wheel speed port correlatedwith a specific wheel location. The controller includes a communicationport for receiving a plurality of tire characteristic messages and aprocessing unit comprising control logic. The control logic is capableof receiving a signal indicative of a wheel speed at a first wheel speedport, receiving a tire characteristic message at the communication port;determining the specific wheel location of the tire characteristicsignal as being the same wheel location of the wheel speed signal basedon the association of the wheel speed signal and the tire characteristicmessage; and assigning the unique sensor identification to the firstwheel location.

A flowchart for implementing a method 50 of the present invention isshown in FIG. 2.

Prior to the implementation of the method 50, each tire 12 a, 12 b, 12c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 j is placed at a specific wheellocation on the vehicle. Alternatively, one tire can be placed at aspecific wheel location at a time and the method executed in apredetermined sequence. Each tire 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12g, 12 h, 12 j has a tire pressure sensor 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e,16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j installed. For the present illustration,tire 12 a is located on the left front wheel end section of the vehicle.Tire 12 b is located on the right front wheel end section of thevehicle. Tire 12 c is located at the outer left mid wheel location and12 d is located at the inner left mid wheel end section. Tire 12 e islocated at the inner right mid wheel location and 12 f is located in theouter right mid wheel location. Tire 12 g is located at the outer leftrear wheel location and 12 h is located in the inner left rear wheellocation. Tire 12 i is located at the inner right rear wheel locationand 12 j is located at the outer right rear section of the vehicle. Thetire placement is done by a vehicle original equipment manufacturer orby a technician servicing the vehicle. At this point, the controller 22does not have information regarding the placement of the tires 12 a, 12b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 j at a specific wheellocation.

First, in step 54, a tire (or tires) at a single wheel location isrotated. For example tire 12 a at the left front wheel location isrotated. The tire 12 a can be rotated by an automatic machine, like adynamometer, or manually by the service technician. The tire 12 a shouldbe rotated for a minimum of about fifteen seconds at a speed of aboutthree miles per hour. Wheel speed sensor 14 a will transmit an analog ordigital signal with a frequency in proportion to the speed of rotationof the tire 12 a.

In step 56, the wheel speed ports 18 a, 18 b, 18 c, 18 d, 18 e, 18 f, 18g are monitored simultaneously. In the present example, a wheel speedsignal will be received on wheel speed sensor port 18 a because tire 12a is installed at the left front wheel location and wheel speed port 18a is physically connected to wheel speed sensor 14 a. In step 58, thecontrol logic 23 associates a wheel speed sensor signal from wheel speedsensor 14 a received at wheel speed port 18 a with the left front wheellocation on the vehicle 10.

Meanwhile, the tire pressure sensor 16 a located in tire 12 a will begingenerating a signal when tire 12 a is rotated. In one embodiment, thetire pressure sensor 16 a wakes up when the tire 12 a is rotated due tomotion detection, such as through the inclusion of a dual axisaccelerometer or centrifugal switch in the tire pressure sensor 16 a.When the motion detector detects motion, the tire pressure sensor 16 awirelessly transmits a signal carrying the tire characteristicinformation and unique sensor ID. The wireless receiver 24 receives thesignal in the selected data format containing the tire characteristicinformation and unique sensor ID from the tire pressure sensor 16 awirelessly. The wireless receiver 24 decodes the tire characteristicinformation from the selected data format and creates a tirecharacteristic message capable of being communicated on a serialcommunication bus 20. The tire characteristic message includes theunique sensor identification and information regarding tirecharacteristics, such as pressure, rotation and temperature. The signalmay also include information that the sensor is being rotated.

In step 59, the control logic 23 monitors for tire characteristicmessages on the serial communication bus 20.

If a tire characteristic message is received in step 60, the controllogic 23 determines if the tire characteristic message was received in apredetermined time period after the receipt of the wheel speed signal.In one embodiment, the predetermined time period is between about fiveseconds and fifteen seconds. In another embodiment, the predeterminedtime period is about ten seconds. If the predetermined time period hasnot been met or exceeded, the control logic 23 determines that thespecific wheel location currently receiving the wheel speed signal isthe same wheel location as from which the tire characteristic signal wastransmitted. If no tire characteristic message is received in thepredetermined time period, the control logic 23 transmits a fault signalto the communication bus 20 or to the display device 32 in step 66.

In step 62, the control logic 23 then associates the unique sensor IDfrom that tire characteristic message to that specific wheel locationthat is coupled to the wheel end rotation. For example, if a tirecharacteristic signal is received from tire sensor 16 a while tire 12 ais spinning and the receiver 24 has transmitted a tire characteristicmessage including the unique sensor ID of tire sensor 16 a onto theserial communication bus 20 within the predetermined time period thatfrom when a wheel speed sensor signal from wheel speed sensors 14 a isreceived at wheel speed port 18 a, the control logic 23 determines thatthe tire sensor 16 a is associated with the left front wheel location. Atire characteristic signal from tire sensor 16 a will now consistentlybe assigned to left front wheel location on the vehicle.

The control logic 23 transmits the wheel location and tirecharacteristic information as a new tire characteristic message on theserial communication bus 20; the new message containing the specificwheel location of the tire pressure sensor transmitting the message aspart of the single message. Other controllers connected to the bus 20may use this information to indicate vehicle tire status. The new tirecharacteristic message will inform the user or other controllers exactlywhere on the vehicle the tire problem exists without extensive manualoperation of associating the tire pressure sensors with a particulartire on the vehicle.

The method proceeds to step 64 from steps 62 and 66 if all tires havenot yet been rotated. Each tire 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12h, 12 i, 12 j is rotated independently as part of the method 50.However, in some instances two tires can be located at one wheellocation. In one example, tires 12 c, 12 d will be associated with theleft mid wheel location when a signal from wheel speed sensor 14 c isreceived at wheel speed port 18 c. The outer tire 12 c can be furtheridentified from the inner tire 12 d even though they are rotatedtogether. Additional methods to identify which tire is the outer tireand inner tire are through the signal strength, the tire temperatureincrease or the accelerometer internal to the tire pressure sensor.

If all the tires have been rotated, the method ends at step 68.

A flowchart for implementing another method 80 of the present inventionis shown in FIG. 3.

Each tire 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 j is placedat a specific wheel location on the vehicle. At this point, thecontroller 22 does not have information regarding the placement of thetires 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 j at a specificwheel location. In method 80, the tires are rotated in a predeterminedsequence. In one embodiment, the predetermined sequence of rotation isknown by the control logic 23.

For the first step in method 80, the tire 12 a is rotated is step 82.The tire 12 a can be rotated by an automated rotation device, such as achassis dynamometer from Link Engineering Company. The tire 12 a shouldbe rotated for a minimum of about fifteen seconds at a speed of aboutthree miles per hour. In one embodiment, the predetermined wheellocation is received by the controller 22 from the dynamometer via theserial communication bus 20 or other means when the dynamometer beginsrotation of the tire 12 a. Alternatively, the tire 12 a can be rotatedmanually.

The tire pressure sensor 16 a located in tire 12 a will begin generatinga tire signal when tire 12 a is rotated. However, in this embodiment,other sensors 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e, 16 f, 16 g, 16 h, 16 i, 16 j onthe vehicle may also be transmitting tire characteristic signals atinfrequent intervals, for example every three to five minutes,regardless of rotation of the tire in which the sensor is located. Inone embodiment, the tire pressure sensor 16 a includes a motiondetector, such as a dual axis accelerometer or centrifugal switch. Whenthe motion detector detects motion, the accelerometer sends a signal tothe tire pressure sensor 16 a and the tire pressure sensor 16 a promptlytransmits a wireless signal carrying the tire characteristicinformation. The signal also includes information that the tire isrotating. The signal is received by the wireless receiver 24. Thewireless receiver 24 decodes the signal and creates a tirecharacteristic message for communication on serial communication bus 20.This particular tire characteristic message will include informationindicating the tire is rotating.

In step 90, the control logic 23 monitors the serial communication bus20 for tire characteristic messages. The control logic 23 may monitorits own wireless receiver for signals containing the tire characteristicinformation and a unique sensor ID, if so equipped. However, the tirecharacteristic message must also include information indicating the tireis rotating in order for the control logic 23 to use the tirecharacteristic message as part of method 80 to configure the tirepressure monitoring system. For example, an acceleration value ofbetween one g and three g in the tire characteristic message willindicate that the tire is rotating. However, dependent on the type ofrotation sensor, a single bit in the tire characteristic message mayindicate that the tire is rotating or not rotating. The tirecharacteristic message also includes the unique sensor ID andinformation regarding tire characteristics, such as pressure andtemperature.

If a tire characteristic message is received in step 90 that includes anindication that the tire is rotating, the control logic 23 associatesthe specific wheel location at the predetermined rotation sequence asthe same specific wheel location as the tire characteristic signal. Thecontrol logic 23 may not process tire characteristic messages that donot contain rotation information indicating the tire is currently beingrotated.

In step 96, a predetermined time period is established in which thecontrol logic 23 continues to monitor the bus for tire characteristicmessages with an indication of tire rotation. In one embodiment, thepredetermined time period is between about five seconds and fifteenseconds. In another embodiment, the predetermined time period is aboutten seconds. If no tire characteristic message containing an indicationof tire rotation is received before the expiration of the predeterminedtime period, the control logic 23 records a fault in step 98. The methodproceeds to step 94.

If a message indicating rotation of the tire is received in step 90, thecontrol logic 23 then assigns the unique sensor ID in step 92 to thatspecific wheel location that is coupled to the wheel end rotation. Forexample, if a tire characteristic signal is received from tire sensor 16a while tire 12 a is spinning and the receiver 24 has transmitted a tirecharacteristic message including the unique sensor identification oftire sensor 16 a onto the serial communication bus 20, the control logic23 determines that the tire sensor 16 a is associated with the leftfront wheel location. A tire characteristic signal from tire sensor 16 awill now consistently be assigned to left front wheel location on thevehicle.

The control logic 23 transmits the wheel location and tirecharacteristic information as a new tire location message on the serialcommunication bus 20, the new tire location message containing thespecific wheel location of the tire pressure sensor transmitting themessage. Other controllers connected to the bus 20 may use thisinformation to indicate vehicle tire status. The tire location messagewill inform the user or other controllers exactly where on the vehiclethe tire problem exists without extensive manual operation ofassociating the tire pressure sensors with a particular tire on thevehicle.

The method proceeds to step 94 to determine if all tires have beenrotated. Each tire 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 i, 12 jis rotated independently as part of the method 80. However, in someinstances two tires can be located at one wheel location. In oneexample, tires 12 c, 12 d will be associated with the left mid wheellocation when a signal from wheel speed sensor 14 c is received at wheelspeed port 18 c. The outer tire 12 c can be further identified from theinner tire 12 d even though they are rotated together. Additionalmethods to identify which tire is the outer tire and inner tire arethrough the signal strength, the tire temperature increase or theinternal accelerometer. In one embodiment, an accelerometer detectsdirection due to the mounting of the tire pressure sensors in the tiresthemselves. The tires on a dual tire mount are mounted in oppositedirections; therefore, the sensors are mounted in opposite directions.For example, in a left mid tire location, the inner wheel would containa sensor that would be rotating clockwise and the outer wheel wouldcontain a tire pressure sensor that would be rotating counter clockwise.

If all the tires have been rotated, the method ends at step 100.

Accordingly, a method for configuring a tire pressure monitoring systemis disclosed. The method comprises rotating a first tire of a pluralityof tires on a vehicle; receiving a signal indicative of the speed ofrotation of the first tire from a wheel speed sensor associated with thefirst tire; associating the first tire with a first wheel location inresponse to receiving the signal from the wheel speed sensor; generatinga tire characteristic signal in response to the rotation of the firsttire from a tire sensor associated with the first tire; receiving thetire characteristic signal; associating the tire characteristic signalwith the first wheel location in response to receiving the tirecharacteristic signal within a first predetermined time period fromreceiving the signal indicative of the speed of rotation of the firstwheel.

Accordingly, another method for configuring a tire pressure monitoringsystem is disclosed. The method comprises rotating a first tire of aplurality of tires on a vehicle; receiving a signal indicative of therotation of the first tire as part of a tire characteristic message andassociating the first tire with a first wheel location in response toreceiving the tire characteristic message indicating the tire isrotating.

While the present invention has been illustrated by the description ofembodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described inconsiderable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants torestrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to suchdetail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention, in its broaderaspects, is not limited to the specific details, the representativeapparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly,departures may be made from such details without departing from thespirit or scope of the applicant's general inventive concept.

We claim:
 1. A controller for a tire pressure monitoring systemcomprising: a plurality of wheel speed ports for receiving wheel speedsensor signals, each of the plurality of wheel speed ports correlatedwith a specific wheel location; a communication port for receiving aplurality of tire characteristic messages, the tire characteristicmessages including at least one of a unique sensor identification andtire characteristic information; and a processing unit comprisingcontrol logic, wherein the processing unit is in communication with theplurality of wheel speed ports and the communication port and thecontrol logic is capable of: receiving a signal indicative of a wheelspeed at a first wheel speed port correlated with a first wheellocation; receiving a tire characteristic message at the communicationport within a predetermined time period of receiving the signalindicative of the wheel speed correlated with a first wheel location;determining the wheel location of the tire characteristic message asbeing the first wheel location based on the association of the wheelspeed signal and the tire characteristic message; and assigning theunique sensor identification to the first wheel location.
 2. Thecontroller as in claim 1, wherein the control logic is capable oftransmitting a tire location message to a serial communication bus, themessage comprising the first wheel location and at least one of the tirecharacteristic information and the unique sensor identification.
 3. Thecontroller as in claim 1, wherein the tire characteristic informationcomprises at least one of a tire pressure, sensor battery level, tirerotation and a tire temperature.
 4. The controller as in claim 1,wherein the predetermined time period is between about five seconds andabout fifteen seconds.
 5. The controller as in claim 4, wherein thepredetermined time period is about ten seconds.
 6. The controller as inclaim 1, wherein the controller is a braking system controller.
 7. Thecontroller as in claim 1, wherein the control logic is capable oftransmitting an indication of a fault when the tire characteristicmessage is not received within the predetermined time period.
 8. Thecontroller as in claim 7, wherein the control logic is capable oftransmitting the indication of a fault to at least one of a serialcommunication bus and a display device.
 9. A system for configuring atire pressure monitoring system on a vehicle comprising: a plurality ofwheel speed sensors, wherein each of the plurality of wheel speedsensors is associated with a respective wheel location on a vehicle andis capable of transmitting a wheel speed sensor signal; a plurality oftire characteristic sensors, wherein each of the plurality of tirecharacteristic sensors is associated with a respective tire on thevehicle and is capable of transmitting a tire characteristic signal; anda controller comprising; a communication port in communication with aserial communication bus; a plurality of sensor ports in communicationwith the plurality of wheel speed sensors; and a processing unitcomprising control logic and communicating with the plurality of sensorports and the communication port, the processing unit capable ofassociating a tire characteristic signal with a wheel speed sensorsignal at a wheel location on the vehicle upon receiving the wheel speedsensor signal and the tire characteristic sensor signal within apredetermined time period.
 10. The system as in claim 9, the controllerfurther comprising a port in communication with a wireless receiver,wherein the tire characteristic sensor signal is received on thewireless receiver.
 11. The system as in claim 9 wherein the tirecharacteristic signal comprises at least one of a sensor identificationnumber, a tire pressure and a tire temperature.
 12. The system as inclaim 9 wherein the processing unit is capable of transmitting anindication of a fault, wherein the predetermined time period has elapsedand a tire characteristic signal has not been received.